Thursday, October 30, 2008

Something the New Jersey/New York fans have to be excited about, after their beloved Mets collapsed again.

The opening of the 2008-2009 NBA season, which means Nets Basketball.

This year the Nets are going out with a new look, something that the is totally different than a couple of years ago. They will go out now with a rookie center, foreign forward, a new small forward, a superstar in Carter, and a young, building-block point guard.

Last night, the Nets were put to the test as they opened their season last night against the Wizards in the Verizon Center.

The Nets were able to come back from 46-44 score at halftime and outscore the Wizards in the second half and take the victory, 95-85.

Vince Carter led the way with 21 points. Carter, showed last night that he can still be dominant as he always has been. Yi Jianlian made his debut last night for the Nets after being acquired from the Bucks this off season.

Yi ended the game with 17 points, a very impressive debut for the young forward.

Some quick stats for some other Nets. Devin Harris had 13 points. The new comer Bobby Simmons, ended the night with only 5 points. Rookie Brook Lopez didn't get the start as he finished out with a solid 8 points.

Something that really caught my eye though when I was watching the game was Jarvis Hayes. Hayes, off the bench gave the Nets a very good outing as he ended the night with 14 points, more than any other player except Vince Carter and Yi.

Hayes, by trade is listed as a small forward. This could open up that 3 spot with Bobby Simmons as the current holder of that spot.

All together, a great performance by the Nets in this game. Something they really needed to do. Win the first game of the season, and gain more and more momentum on the way.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

They have a lot of concerns on their off season to-do list which includes very many concerns relating to the depth of the Mets.

As Recently as last week, the Colorado Rockies have offcially declared that they are open to shopping LF Matt Holliday, following this past season's 3rd place in the N.L West. The Rockies however won't be as generous to the Mets as the Twins were in giving up Johan Santana for only Carlos Gomez. The Rockies are looking for young talent as they seek to open up a spot for young outfielder Dexter Fowler.

The Mets are one of the teams that would really make since for Holliday.

WITH HIM: The Mets would become more talented and younger in the outfield with Holliday, Beltran, and Church. Instead of last season's Alou, Beltran, and Church (for the short period of time Alou was healthy). The Mets could potentially in their linup be...

Reyes

Castillo

Wright

Delgado

Holliday

Beltran

Church

Castro/Schneider

Pitcher

(Maybe switch Castillo and Church)

With this giving the Mets a better and more sound linup. The only concern is that the Rockies aren't going to give up Holliday for nothing. The Mets will have to part ways with top outfield prospect Fernando Martinez or top pitching prospect John Niece. Or both. The Mets could maybe get out with a Pelfrey/AAA guy, only maybe.

WITHOUT HIM: The Mets will probably be in the same position as last year, unless they go after an outfielder in the off season. Maybe 1st-3rd place in the east and maybe get as far as the NLDS. They could however open up an opportunity for Fernando Martinez to play LF in place of the ageing Alou. This would give Martinez a year to get used to the system and potentially become a threat down the road.

Keep in mind, the Mets could go after a guy like Jose Guillen or Raul Ibanez, costing a bit less and easier to pry away from their team